Tests for police in gun, car incidents

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Police who fire their guns or are involved in high-speed crashes
will be tested for drugs and alcohol as part of a new ethical
standards package being finalised for Chief Commissioner Christine
Nixon.

Under the proposed reforms all police will be tested if they are
involved in critical incidents, including fatal shootings, deaths
in custody, high-speed pursuits that result in accidents, or
actions that lead to serious injury.

The move follows the death of a 25-year-old man on Phillip
Island on Saturday who was killed after his car crashed during a
high-speed police pursuit. The police involved were tested for
alcohol but not drugs.

New South Wales police involved in critical incidents have been
tested for drugs and alcohol since 1998. The policy was introduced
after two police who shot dead a mentally disturbed man armed with
a knife on Bondi beach were later found to be cocaine users.

The proposed reforms are among changes being considered by
senior police, including new moves to stamp out corruption.

Under one proposed scheme being developed by the Victoria Police
crime department, selected police would be appointed as confidants
to accept information from police who do not want to make formal
statements on corruption.

The system is designed to protect the sources of allegations:
police whistleblowers have complained of being ostracised by fellow
police for making complaints.

The confidants network has been used successfully by the
Australian Federal Police.

Experienced crime squad detectives may be moved to the ethical
standards department to try to improve investigative standards in
corruption probes.

Under the Victoria Police ethical upgrade, police will be banned
from working long term in high-risk areas such as the major drug
investigation division.

The use of integrity testing on police suspected of acting
improperly will be increased. In one recent case, ethical standards
police left items by the roadside to see if one policeman would
take them home.

Ms Nixon is pushing for revisions to the Police Regulation Act
to change an anti-corruption strategy she believes is outdated.

Proposed changes include:

· The chief commissioner getting the power to demand full
financial disclosure, including bank details, debts and
investments, from serving police and their immediate families.

· Random drug testing of all police.

· Increased powers for the chief commissioner to sack,
transfer and discipline police.

The Police Association has given qualified support to drug
testing, but opposes a push by Ms Nixon to introduce random and
start-of-shift testing as an unnecessary infringement on police
civil liberties.

"I don't think people in white coats should be able to walk into
a police station, lock the doors and demand everyone urinate into
bottles," Police Association assistant secretary Bruce McKenzie
said.

He said it was a massive invasion of privacy to force the
disclosure of the private financial details of spouses and children
who were not police department employees.

Senior police are also concerned their investigations could be
compromised by corruption in external organisations that have
access to confidential information. They include telecommunications
firms, government agencies and private prisons.

In one probe into organised crime, several major suspects were
warned by corrupt staff in another government department that they
were being targeted.

Part of the new strategy includes improving corruption
protection methods used in "partnership organisations".

Victorian police have shot and killed 38 people since 1988. The
last was Wayne Joannou, killed by the special operations group on
February 18.

Police spokesman Stephen Linnell said a range of ethical
standards initiatives were under discussion but nothing had been
finalised.

"The Chief Commissioner is committed to raising the standard of
ethical health of the Victoria Police," he said.

Police Minister Tim Holding said he would consult senior police
and the association before finalising changes to the Police
Regulation Act. He expects to present the revised laws to
Parliament later this year.